Progress in equine pain assessment?

摘要

In 1789, in his Principles of Morals and Legislation, Jeremy Bentham proffered the following thoughts regarding man's treatment of animals: ‘The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?’ Up until this time, a Cartesian view of animals was commonplace, i.e. that they had no minds (lacked consciousness), and therefore could not feel pain; they merely existed. Although Bentham's words may have seemed rhetorical to many, there has, fortunately, been an ever-increasing interest in the investigation of both human and animal pain with the aim of improving its recognition and alleviation ( Harrison, 1991).